Locarno Agreement establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs

Title of the Treaty

Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs.

About the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs

The Agreement establishes a Union of states using an international system for classifying goods in which industrial designs may be incorporated. Contracting States are obliged to apply the relevant classifications to designs protected under their national design registration laws. The Agreement also sets up a Committee of Experts from the countries of the Locarno Union to amend the classification as necessary and an Assembly, whose main role is to agree the budget of the Union. Other administrative matters are entrusted to the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The aim of a classification system for designs is to make it easier for designers and product manufacturers to find out what designs have previously been registered which may affect particular types of goods. Wide use of a common international system helps determine whether a manufacturer is free to use a particular design in different countries or whether a designer’s creation is actually new.

Industrial designs are protected in members of the European Union under their national registered designs legislation. In general, their Patent Office already applies this classification system to all designs registered under that system. Consequently accession will require no change in law or practice, merely require most member states to continue the use of this system for at least a further five years. In addition a Community design system has been agreed (Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs). This will allow the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market to register Community designs and requires that Office to apply classifications according to the same system.

Some overseas territories are not presently eligible to be included since a prerequisite is to be party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1883.

The Locarno Union has a budget, but since 1994 the World Intellectual Property Organization has adopted a unitary contribution system, where states make the same contributions irrespective of the number of Treaties administered by the Organization to which they are party. The cost of classification of designs is already included within the fees payable for registration of a design.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Classification of Law Materials, Law Classification, Historical, Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Treaties.